The Philadelphia Inquirer: Colonoscopies save lives, but many Americans don’t get one. Home tests could help change that

For numerous reasons, Black people have a higher risk of developing colon cancer and higher death rates from the condition compared with white or Latino people. Compared with white men and women, colon cancer rates were 24% higher among Black men and 19% higher among Black women in 2019, according to a report by the American Cancer Society. All three groups get screened at about the same rate.

Research shows that the more glaring gaps in colon cancer screening rates fall along income and insurance divisions, rather than racial lines.

“Historically, in this country, the main form of colorectal screening has been colonoscopy — it’s very effective, it’s widely available, and it’s been shown to reduce mortality from colorectal cancer,” said Shivan Mehta, a gastroenterologist and associate chief innovation officer at Penn Medicine. “But there are other strategies,” he said of the increasingly popular at-home tests to detect early possible signs of cancer.

“We can solve a lot of these equity issues [with at-home tests] because you’re not subject to all these other areas where things can fall off,” Mehta said.